A FEW OLD FAVORITES 137 



still perhaps an open one. But, in any event, the 

 use made of them by Professor DeVries called 

 particular attention to this plant, and has given 

 it a place quite apart among flowers of field and 

 garden. 



There are many species of evening primrose, 

 and the tendency to vary among them is marked. 



I have experimented with the primroses, cross- 

 ing them quite extensively. One form received 

 from the mountains of Chile has given some in- 

 teresting results through selection, in that it now 

 produces blossoms, a single petal of which would 

 cover the entire blossom of any of the other prim- 

 roses under cultivation. The flower itself is 

 sometimes six inches or more in diameter. A bed 

 of these plants reminds one of a lot of handker- 

 chiefs spread out on a lawn, as the blossoms are 

 somewhat square with rounded corners. A new 

 crop is produced each morning throughout the 

 entire summer. 



The plant itself is somewhat trailing, and 

 about two feet to two and one-half feet in diam- 

 eter. It is a perennial, though it commences to 

 bloom quite early in the season. 



This large-flowered variety has been produced 

 by most rigid selection for size, form, and white- 

 ness and substance of flower, and it far surpasses 

 all other members of the genus in size and beauty. 



